Air-cooled block



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N. H. NYE

AIR COOLED BLOCK Filed June 2, 1945 INVENTOR. NORMA N H. NYE

MWLMM ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 13, 1949 ZAldhQdd AIR-COOLED BLOCK Norman H. Nye, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignor to The Vaughn Machinery Company, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 2, 1945, Serial No. 597,209

1 Claim. 1

The present improvements, relating as indicated to wire drawing blocks, have more particular regard to means for cooling such block and the coil of wire wrapped thereon during a drawing operation.

'As is well known, the Wire as it is drawn through a die becomes highly heated and if not cooled between successive passes the temperature of the wire may become excessively high with resultant injury. The usual method for effecting such desirable cooling has been to spray water or equivalent liquid coolant onto the interior surface of the block or drum, but this in- VOlVes the difficulty that any liquid thus employed has a tendency to enter the bearings which support the block; also due to centrifugal force the removal of the liquid from the block in desired manner and at desired rate presents a further difficulty.

One principal object of the present invention is the provision of cooling means which will permit the employment of air or equivalent gaseous coolant instead of such liquid. While it has been heretofore, proposed to use air, there has been a lack in previous constructions of means whereby :5

such gaseous coolant can be used in adequate volume and a maximum cooling action secured therefrom.

A more particular object of the present invention, accordingly, is the provision of a block or drum through which a gaseous coolant may be circulated without undue impediment to its flow, thus permitting such flow at a maximum rate, and at the same time to secure maximum absorption of heat. Still another object is to provide a construction of block which will be extremely simple with no complicated parts or connections for supplying the cooling fluid, e. g. air, to the block.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends. said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

The annexed drawing and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a transverse horizontal section through a wire drawing block embodying my present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof, including the supporting structure whereon the block is mounted, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 2-2 Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a broken vertical section of the block: the plane of such section being indicated by the line 3-3 Fig. 2.

Referring to the several figures of the drawing,

a block I. whereon the wire is wound inv the usual manner during the drawing operation is mounted on the upper end of a vertical spindle 2 suitably journalled in a supporting frame structure 3. Only the ortion of the latter adjacent the block is shown and it will be understood an additional, step bearing will be provided for the lower end of said spindle and that there will be It. will also be understood that while, as illustrated] suitable driving connections for the latter.

The wire engaging surface of the block or drum is bounded above and below by bevelled flanges 6 and. 1 respectively, so that the wire at it is wound thereon will be held against displacement.

The portion of the supporting frame structure 3 adjacent the block or drum I includes an upstanding hollow flange 3 which closely contacts the lower flan e l of said block and is provided with a plurality of inwardly directed apertures 9 adiacent such line of contact, such apertures inclinin toward the wire-engaging surface of the block so as to direct thereagainst air or ecuivalent cooling fluid su lied to the annular chamber in within said ho low flange 3 from a chamber ll connected with a source of such coo in fluid maintained under suit ble p essure.

Stationarily su ported on frame structure 3 is an annular partition l7. that extends upwardly within the space between the hub 4 and de ending flange 5 of the block or drum I, whereby such space is divided into two concentric chambers. Such. partition is formed with an opening I4 which communicates with the outer such space, and a second opening l5 at the opposite side connects such outer space with such inner space, for which latter an exit opening is is formed in the upper face of the block or drum. The chamber ID in flange 8 is connected by means of one or more openings I! with the annular chamber I8 bounded by frame structure 3, such flange 8 and the lower portion of the depending flange 5 of the block. As a result, the cooling fluid received in chamber ID from d-uct II in addition to discharging through the openings 9 will enter into said chamber 18 and thence, by way of opening [4 in partition 12, into the outer annular space formed by said partition within the block, circularly around the latter to opening 15 through which it will'pass into the inner space in the block and thence out through exit opening I6 in the upper face of the latter. As a result it will be seen that a divided stream of the cooling fluid will be caused to circulate within the block in contact with the inner face of depending flange 5 and to enhance the cooling action such face is formed with a plurality of inwardly directed circumferentially directed ribs or fins 20.

The mode of operation of my improved block should be apparent from the foregoing description of the construction of its component parts and the manner in which the cooling stream of air or equivalent fluid is circulated within the same. At thesame time jets of the cooling fluid will be discharged against the wire-engaging surface of the drum or the coils of wire as they are wound thereon. However, the important improvement consists in the highly efficient means provided for withdrawing heat from such surface through the circulation of the cooling fluid between the-inwardly directed ribs or fins 20. The latter insure'a close and equalized contact of the cooling stream throughout the entire inner face of the depending flange 5, so that by maintaining the proper rate of flow and temperature of the fluid used, any desired degree of cooling action maybe obtained. At the sametime the construction of the block isrelativelysimple, there being no separate moving 'parts other than the block itself.

"Other modes of applying the'princ'iple of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the'means stated by-the following claim or the equivalent of such stated means be employed. v

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A rotatably mounted block including a hub portion and an annular flange extending from said hub portion with its axis aligned therewith, a base, means rotatably mounting said block on said base, and means for cooling said block comprising a plurality of annular ribs secured to the 'inner circumference of said flange at spaced distances longitudinally thereof forming a plurality of closed circular channels opening inwardly, a stationary annular partition secured to said base and concentric with said cylindrical flange and effectively closing the opening of said channels exceptfor an air inlet passage and an air outlet opening set forth hereinafter, said partition including a stationary longitudinal air inlet passage communicating with said circular channels and a longitudinal air outlet opening diametrically opposed to said air inlet passage for communicating said channels with the space within said partition, an opening in said hub portion, and means for supplying air to said air inlet passage, whereby airwill flow through said air inlet passage, in opposite directions about said circular channels, to and through said longitudinal air outlet opening to the inside of said partition, and

exhaust through the opening in said hub portion,

the rotation of said annular flange past said stationary 'air inlet passage continually changing the entrance locality of air passing into said channels.

NORMAN H. NYE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file .of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,536,832 Evans May 5, 1925 1,894,001 Myers Jan. 10, 1933 2,167,397 Tideman July 25, 1939 2,241,956 Nye May 13, 1941 2,262,247 Nye Nov. 11,1941 2,291,977 Morgan Aug. .4, 1942 2,403,189 McCollum July 2, 1946 

